Jim’s Intro

by Jim Tattrie

Hi all! I am a secondary school teacher specializing in the area of Technology Education, the practical forms of technology rather than the information/computer kinds that are all too often the assumption. Currently I teach grades 9 through 12 various mechanics type courses in Comox, B.C. which, for those who are unaware, is located on beautiful Vancouver Island.

The title of this course intrigues me.I have not personally had much involvement in business or e-learning (until this program), but I have always been fascinated by the stories of successful business people and with the growth in technology supported learning offering up so much opportunity, I think that this is a very exciting time to be capitalized upon.

I’m expecting to gain much more insight into this subject as we work through this course and I look forward to sharing this experience with you all.

Lots of cool stuff happening with trades and the practical forms of technology. One of the newest approaches is being kicked off by the Industry Training Authority in BC through its virtual network for flexible learning in the trades that will begin its life this fall.

Yes, Comox is a wonderful place to live. Ski in the morning (Mt. Washington) and hit the beach in the afternoon. I do like to ocean kayak and I have done quite a bit in the past, but the recreational pursuits have taken a bit of a hit since my son has come along. On the upside, he is getting to be of the age now where he is able to participate and I see myself getting back into things like mountain biking real soon (we just removed his training wheels this week and he’s off to the races)!

As for mechanics being fun to teach, it is! But the motivated/interested students are likely not as strong in numbers as you might think. Don’t forget that we get a considerable number of students that for one reason or another have no interest in taking any course so they are dropped in our laps as a last resort. Despite this however, the majority of the students are great!

Well I guess I’d better dive in and start. The starting is always the most difficult for me with the feeling that a lot lies between here and the end, but as they say a journey of a thousand miles…

I too am a Tech teacher in Delta. I’ll probably see you at the Tech conference in Oct. Hope my district doesn’t mind paying a little extra to get me to an island conference. I’ll email you tomorrow with a quick Hello.